Chile

Anniversary of “the other 9/11”

www.socialistworld.net, 11/09/2012 website of the committee for a workers' international, CWI

Contradictions of history being unravelled amid mass struggles of today

Socialistworld.net

Today is the 39th anniversary of “the other 9/11” – the brutal coup in
Chile led by Augosto Pinochet, backed by US imperialism which overturned
the democratically elected government of Salvador Allende, giving way to
a two-decade long dictatorship. For the occasion we re-direct readers to
an article by Tony Saunois, written in 2011, “The other 9/11 – 1973
bloody coup against Popular Unity government, lessons for today”: http://www.socialistworld.net/doc/5277.

An examination of these dramatic events is especially important in the
light of today’s events. Pinochet’s forces, with the help of the
international capitalism succeeded, ultimately through the murder and
torture of thousands of young, working class, socialist and communist
fighters, to defeat the movement against their system which they feared
so much. They then lead Chile down the road of ultra neo-liberal
policies, with Chile in many ways a laboratory for the privatisation,
anti-worker policies which later became the dominant trend
internationally. However, many of those capitalist voices which lauded
the Chilean example of economic growth and “social peace” are now being
forced to eat their words. In the last weeks alone, we have seen a
continuation of the massive student movement with 250,000 taking to the
streets across the country, enjoying massive support among the wider
working class.

The sham of capitalist “democracy” under which Pinochet’s policies have
been essentially continued is being exposed, and evidenced by a collapse
in support for the two main political blocks, the ruling Alliance and
“opposition” Concertacion. In the midst of these explosive events the
contradictions stored up by the tragic defeat of the revolutionary
struggles and the neo-liberal offensive which followed are beginning to
unravel. To look at and learn the lessons of this crucial episode in
international working class history is thus of prime importance.

Brazil: Urgent solidarity protests needed
17/03/2015, Translation of a solidarity appeal from the LSR (CWI in Brazil):Faced with lack of water for the people, Sao Paulo water company SABESP
cuts costs, sacks more than 500 workers and victimises trade union
activists

Britain: What lies behind UKIP?
14/03/2015, Hannah Sell, Socialist Party (CWI in England & Wales):Its Tory-oriented anti-immigration, anti-EU rhetoric has been adapted to
a right-wing populism aimed at winning voters fed up with the political
establishment

Greece showdown
26/02/2015, Article to be published in the March issue of Socialism Today (magazine
of the Socialist Party, CWI in England and Wales):Niall Mulholland interviewed NICOS ANASTASIADES, of Xekinima (CWI
Greece), just as Syriza leaders agreed a four-month bail-out extension
with the EU.

Europe: Eurozone time-bomb
25/02/2015, Lynn Walsh, article from Socialism Today (magazine of the Socialist
Party of England and Wales):Mired in recession, the eurozone is haunted by the spectre of stagnation